A Journey Into Yin Yoga

74 A JOURNEY INTO YIN YOGA

cavewoman out on a mission looking for food. Suddenly, you see a powerful

beast charging from out of the bushes at you. It is a ferocious saber-toothed tiger

and it thinks you are its next meal! In reaction to the tiger, your stress response is

unleashed. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, called the HPA axis, springs

into action. A tidal wave of cortisol, adrenaline, and other stress hormones from

the adrenal glands flood through the body, causing you to either fight the tiger

or run away from the tiger. Assuming you survive like your ancestors did, after

the stressor (the tiger) is gone, your stress hormones normalize, and all is fine.

Flashing to the present, the saber-toothed tiger has been replaced by a

different type of stressor. This stressor is modern-day life and includes traffic,

the news, bills, deadlines, family commitments, climate change, and politicians

constantly instilling fear about the latest threat. Maybe just reading that last

sentence causes a stress response. Sorry about that! Unfortunately, that list

isn’t exhaustive, and much more could be added. One way our present-day

scenario is different from that of our ancestors is that we can’t run away from

our stressors. We are swimming in a stress-overloaded reality. Many people

are stuck in a chronic state of stress and sympathetic nervous system activity.

There is no greater enemy to your health than stress. Stress, more than any-

thing else, presents the biggest potential to wreak havoc in every aspect of your

life: your health, relationships, job, school studies, physical performance, and

overall capacity to enjoy life. Potential sources of stress may include the following:

• Physical—Causes include poor dietary choices, allergens, physical
  trauma, overexertion, physical inactivity, illness, and lack of deep sleep.


• Emotional—Causes include relationship breakups, death, illness of a
  loved one, unresolved anger from the past, and suppressed emotions.


• Social—Causes include political situations; loss of a job; financial
  issues; and unhealthy relationships with coworkers, family members,
  and people in your community.


• Environmental—Causes include exposure to environmental toxins,
  computers, cell phones, household appliances, and fluorescent lights.


• Spiritual—Causes include a lack of purpose, lack of connection to
  a higher power, lack of faith, and being disconnected from nature.

Stress elevates the stress hormone, cortisol. Anytime your stress level sky-

rockets, your cortisol level also goes through the roof. Here are some of the

effects of chronic, elevated cortisol levels.

Increased food cravings

Fat gain

Shrinking of the brain

Immune system suppression

Diminished sex drive

Decreased muscle mass

Decreased bone density

Increased anxiety

Panic attacks

Increased depression

Mood swings

Decreased brain function

Increased PMS symptoms